Valve



April m, 1945. c. A. MARTIN VALVE Original Filed April 1, 1937 fzzveizfo? 62207125 CZ. MarZz'rz Patented Apr. 10, 1945 VALVE Charles A. Martin, Chicago, Ill.

Original application April 1, 1937, Serial No. 134,448, now Patent No. -2,249,844, dated July 22, 1941. Divided and this application July 18,

1941, Serial No. 402,915

' Claims.

The present invention relates to thermal expansion valves of the general type described in my Patent No. 1,697,432 and has for its purpose the provision of a valve of this character in which a plurality of expanding elements can be heated by a single heat element so as to give a valve stroke equal to the sum of their expansions. The invention contemplates also a valve of this charactor in which compensating expansion elements are employed to compensate for the temperature of the fluid surrounding the heated expansion elements.

The present invention is a division of my application Serial No. 134,448 filed April 1, 1937, for Control system upon which Patent No. 2,249,--

844 was granted on July 22, 1941, and is particularly directed to the features of the valve originally disclosed and claimed in that application.

-The novel features and advantages of my invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompany-' ing drawing wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood however that the drawing and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a thermal expansion valve embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the liner-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken'on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the structure shown in Fig. 1 utilizes an electrically operated thermal expansion valve such as" is described in my Patent No.'1,69'7,432, but of an improved design. In the improved valve two expanding elements are heated instead of one by the electric heat element controlled by the temperature controller. These elementsare so assembled so as to give a valve stroke equal to vthe sum of their expansions. Compensating expansion elements, for both of the electrically heated expansion elements, compensate for the surrounding temperature of the heated elements. The thermal expansion valve has a tube case 5 having threads on each end. The threads on the left end of the tube connect to the fuel supply line, whereas, the threads on the right end of the tube connect through suitable pipe fittings to the burner of a furnace.

Within the tube case I a valve seat 2 is sealed, having a circular solid section except for the valve opening and ribs 3 supporting a hub t. The opening in the seat is closed, or throttled by a valve Ii having a threaded extension 6 to the left and a key-slotted-extension I to the right. The threaded extension 6 screws into a threaded plug 9 sealed to the end of an operating tube l0 having a positive coemcient of thermal expansion.

- The other end of the operating tube in is sealed to a circular disc H, and the disc ill is slidably fastened on a pair of compensating rods i2 and lt'by means of screws. The rods i2 and it have a positive coefiicient of thermal expansion equivalent to that of the operating tube It and are slidable through holes in a. support bar it. The other ends of rods i2 and it are passed through a circular disc and held in place by means of screws.

The disc 55 is slidable'over the hub t of the valve seat 2 and is fixed to a secondary operating tube 56 having a positive coemcient of thermal expansion also equivalent to that of operating tube iii. The opposite end of the tube it is fixed to the bar It. Also fixedto the bar it is a compensating tube it which also has the same coefficient ofthermal expansion. as that of the operating tube I d. The other end of the compensating tube ii slides into slots E8 in the ribs of the valve seat 2 and is held in a fixed position both by the pressure of fuel against the under side oi the valve and by the pressure exerted by a spring is. It will be observed that inthe drawing the total eiiective length of the compensating tube ii and the rods i2 and i3 is equal to the total effective length of the tubes i0 and i6. Since they all have equal coeflicients of expansion the total expansion of the operating tubes will equal the total expansion of the compensating means for the same temperature change.

Within the operating tube H1 is an electrical heating element til wound on a non-conducting frame (not shown) insulating it from the tube id. The terminals 2| and 22 .of the heating element are protected with flexible lead tubing 23 within the valve case i. The tubing 23 is sealed to a cap 2 3 which in turn is sealed to the operating tube It, making a fluid-tight seal throughout. The lead cable extends through a stuffing box 25 screwed into the valve case I.

The terminals 2| and 22 connect to the power lines 26 and 21 and the current through the lines is controlled in the manner shown in my parent application. Electrical current through the heater 20 causes a rise in temperature of the tube l0, expanding it and increasing its length. The free end of tube Iii into which the threaded stem 6 of valve l is. screwed moves to the right, sliding through the guide hole in the hub l of the valve seat 2, and pushes the valve] away from its seat to increase its opening. Heat dissipated by the operating tube it increases the temperature of thesecondary. tube II which also expands to increase its length. The free end of this tube slides over the hub l of thevalve seat 2 to the right and moves the disc II, therods i2 and II. the disc ii and the operating tube iii attached to it, to the right to give the valve I a further opening: that is, the opening of valve I equals the sum ofthe expansion of tubes l0 and II due to the electrical heating eil'ect; The compensating rods l2 and i8 and the compensating tube I! are completely surrounded by the fluid under control and respond to its temperature. A 'rise in temperature increases the length of both the rods l2 and i3 and the tube l I. These elements, in expanding, move the valve I to the left in the direction to close it to compensate for the heating effect of the fluid under control on the tubes Ill and iI which operate the valve I to the right in a direction to open it. The magnitude of opening of the valve I is therefore proportional to the sum of the difference in temperatures between the operating tubes II and II and the compensating elements comprising the rods I! and II and the tube i1. When the current to the heater Ill is disconnected the operating elements II and II decrease in temperature to move the valve I in the direction to close it. If the operating elements are allowed to cool to the same temperature as the fluid under control the valve I attains its original manual adjustment regardvalve I and seat 2 of the thermally controlled ex- 1 psnsion valve. In the by-pass line another hand operated valve II limits the iiow through the by-pass when the solenoid operates.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction and operation of the devices embodying the invention shown herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art. The specific advantages obtained by the present invention have been discussed herein in connection with the detailed construction. The invention in its broader aspect however is not limited to the details of construction and electrical arrangement disclosed herein.

Having thus described my invention, what-I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

1. A valve moving mechanism of the character described for controlling the how of fluid comprising a valve, two thin-walled metal tubes having a thermal coemcient of expansion and responding to surrounding temperatures, one of said tubes assembled to surround the other of less of whether there has been a change in the temperature of the fluid under control. I

If for a particular control operation it is desired to have a greater opening of the valve I for higher iiuid temperatures, to compensate for theexpansion of the fluid. the compensating elements are made of material having-a lower coei'iicient of. thermal expansion than that of tubes II and II. A spring II is used to provide protection for the valve mechanism should the valve I be ad- Justed to seat itself before the operating elements have cooled to the surrounding fluid temperature. The spring keeps the disc ii-against the screw heads in the rods II and II and keeps the rods under tension in normal operating conditions. -If the valve seats, and there is further contraction of the oberatingelements, the disc ii is pulled forward against the spring pressure and slides on the rods 12 and i8.

Manual adjustment of the valve I is obtained by turning an adjusting stem 29. Attached to the stem is a pinion gear 30 which is held in mesh with a bevel gear Ii by a bracket I2. In the hub of the bevel gear Si is a key which extends into the key-slot of the stem 1 of the valve I. Rotation of the screw head adjusting stem 29 in a clockwise direction turns the valve I in the same direction and screws its threaded extension into the threaded end I of the ex ansion tube II to move the valve in a direction toward the seat to close it. To open the valve I the screw head adjusting stem 29 is turned in a counterclockwise direction. Valve I is therefore manually adjusted to either a closed position or a slightly open position. In the latter case the fuel admitted to the furnace must be insufficient to maintain the operating control temperature.

Power lines 2i and 21 also connect to a coil 38- of a'solenoid valve II having aplunger II. The solenoid valve 34 is'in a by-pass around the main said tubes, means for electrically heating the aforesaid tubes, cooperating elements having a' thermal coefiicient of expansion and responding to surrounding temperatures, said cooperating elements interconnected with said electrically heated tubes to give a valve movement equal to the difference in the combined expansions of the electrically heated tubes and the combined ex-. pensions of said elements for responding to surrounding temperatures.

2. A valve of the character described for controlling the flow of iiuid, said valve comprising a casing through which the fluid flows, a plurality of operating tubes in said casing. said tubes having a positive thermal coeflicient of expansion and one of said tubes encircling the other, a valve aimed to one end of the inner operating tube, a valve seat adjacent said end adapted to be enand by said valve, tension means connectin l the other end of said inner operating tube to the end of the outer operating tube adjacent said valve, spring means urging said tubes in such direction as to maintain tension on said tension means, and rigid means limiting the movement of said operating tubes and tension means toward the valve.

3. A valve of the character described for controlling the flow of iiuld, said valve comprising a casing through which the iiuid flows, a plurality of operating tubes in said casing, said tubes having a positive thermal coeilicient of expansion and one of said tubes encircling the other, a valve amxed to one end of the inner operating tube. a

\ valve seat adjacent said and adapted to be engaged by said valve, tension means connecting the other end of said inner operating'tube to the end of the outer operating tube adiacent said valve, spring means urging said tubes in such direction as to maintain tension on said tension means,-and rigid means limiting the movement of said tubes and tension means toward the valve. said tension means comprising expansion rods in the path of the iluid flowing through the valve casing whereby to respond to the temperature thereof.

4. A valve of the character described for controlling the flow of fluid. said valve comprising a casing through which the fluid flows, a plurality of operating tubes in said casing, said tubes having a positive thermal coemcient of expansion and one of said tubes encircling the other. a valve ailixed to one end of the inner operating tube. a

as'zaasc valve seat adjacent said end adapted to be engaged by said valve, rigid means connecting the other end of said inner operating tube-,to the end of the outer operating tube adjacent said-valve.

a spring urging said valve toward open-position,

sion and one of said tubes encircling the other,

a valve afllxed to one end of one operating tube. a valve seat adjacent said end adapted to be engaged by said valve, tension means connecting the other end of said last named tube to the end of the other operating tube adjacent said valve, spring means urging said tubes in'such direction as to maintain tension on said tension means.

and rigid means limiting the movement of said tubes and tension means toward the valve, said tension means comprising expansion rods in the path of the fluid flowing through the valve casing whereby to respond to the temperature there of, and said rigid means comprising a thermal expansion member extending lengthwise of the valve casing and in the path of fluid flowing through said valve casing whereby the expansion and contraction of said rigid and said tension means compensate for the effect of the temperature of the fluid passing through the valve casing upon the expansion of said tubes.

' 6. A valvemoving mechanism of the character described for controlling the flow of fluid, comprising a valve, double thermal expansion means for operating said valve, cooperating with double thermal expansion means for compensating for the surrounding temperature of said valve and means for heating said thermal expansion operating means for operating the aforesaid valve, said thermal expansion means for compensating for surrounding temperatures having a diilerent coefficient of expansion than the thermal expansion operating means.

1 '7. A valve moving mechanism ofthe character described for controlling the flow of fluid, comprising a valve, double thermal expansion means for operating said valve cooperating with double thermal expansion means for compensating for the surrounding temperature of said valve and means for heating said thermal expansion operating means for operating the aforesaid valve, said thermal expansion means for compensating (or surrounding temperatures having a lower coeflla. Means for controlling the flow fluid through a conduit comprising a valve casing, valve means in the casing including a member movable to increase or decrease the valve opening, a thermal expansion means in said casing cooperating with said member to move it in response'to temperature changes of said means, and a second thermal expansion means connected with said first named thermal expansion means and respon-v sive to temperatures of fluid flowing through said casing to oppose movement or the member by said first named thermal expansion means, said second named thermal expansion means having a dinerent coeflicient of expansion than the first named thermal expansion means.

9. Means for controlling the now of fluid through a conduit comprising a valve casing.

valve means in the casing including a member movable to increase or decrease the valve opening, a thermal expansion means in said casing cooperating with said member to move it in response to temperature changes of said means, and f a second thermal expansion means connected My to one end oi one oi.

cient of expansion than the thermal expansion 6 operating means..

with said first named thermal expansion means and responsive to temperatures of fluid flowing through said casing to oppose movement of the member by said first named thermal expansion means, said secondnamed thermal expansion means having a different coefllcient of-expansion than the first named thermal expansion means, said flrst named thermal expansion means comprising two concentric tubes connected to the valve means and operable to move the valve means in proportion to the sum of their expansion.

iii. A means for producing mechanical motion by thermal expansion comprising an assembly of metal tubes operable to expand and contract in response to temperature changes thereof. one of said tubes surrounding anothertube, means for electrically heating said tubes, means extending from a fixed point and responsive to the surrounding temperature and connected with said assemof tubes to give a movement of means flxed said tubes relative to said fixed point depending on the-diflerence between the combined expansions of aforesaid electrically heated-tubes and the combined expansions of said surrounding temperature responsive means,

the overall expansion of said surrounding tome perature responsive means per degree change in temperature being equal to the overall expansion oi said assembly oi metal tubes per degree change in temperature whereby the aiflxed-means is held stationary when both the tubes and the surrounding temperature responsive means are subjected to the same change intemperature.

cam us A. Means. 

